Maryland to Big Ten: Big Questions For Lacrosse

Maryland's decision to leave the ACC — a conference of which the Terps were a founding member and with which they have 59 years of history — and join the Big Ten will have significant trickle-down effects for lacrosse. Rutgers is also likely to join the Big Ten, with an announcement expected Tuesday.

What does this all mean for lacrosse? We asked ourselves these questions among the staff this morning. These are questions we're looking to sort out in the coming weeks. There's lots of “what-ifs?” that need to be decided before these are cleared up.

When asked about lacrosse at a news conference Monday, Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson said vaguely: "We do have several plans we could put in place."

1. What will Maryland's schedule look like?

If we presume that Maryland will add its Big Ten foes on the schedule (Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State and Rutgers), that changes the make-up of the Terps' schedule substantially. The Terps' ACC schedule has been an SOS booster — especially when combined with the ACC Tournament run. How many of the current ACC foes will stick on Maryland's future schedules, and will any of Maryland's historic rivalries be on the chopping block, including the storied Hopkins series?

2. Does this mean Big Ten Lacrosse?

The Big Ten will have Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Rutgers and Maryland. That's still one team short of an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament, and a Big Ten coach said that the conference wouldn't sponsor a sport that didn't meet the requirements for an NCAA bid, which was the situation in men's hockey until Penn State recently added the sport.

A sixth Big Ten school and a tournament with an AQ is the dream, but it's not likely the AQ will be the tipping point for a school to sponsor DI lacrosse. However, there have been persistent rumors of Big Ten schools exploring the addition of men's lacrosse, and Michigan State sponsored the sport until 1997. And there's also the possibility that another university currently sponsoring men's lacrosse could join the Big Ten, though with Notre Dame recently joining the ACC, there aren't many likely candidates.

3. What happens to the Big East?

The Big East has been battered in recent months, first with the departure of Syracuse and Notre Dame. Now, with Rutgers likely gone, Big East's future membership is only five teams, one short of an AQ. Will the Big East look to add an associate member to keep six teams? New programs High Point and Richmond have yet to join a lacrosse conference, and could be good fits if the Big East chooses to add an associate member to keep the AQ.

4. How much TV exposure will be added?

The Big Ten Network has been the central point of these discussions. The lucrative network will add markets in DC/NoVa/Baltimore and also the New York/New Jersey area. The network has been proactive about airing lacrosse contests in the past, so it's safe to say that will increase with the added teams. Having a high-profile traditional lacrosse power in Maryland for those broadcasts will help boost their value to the network.

5. What happened to the ACC's AQ?

Talk of a lacrosse “super-conference” was short-lived. The ACC will still be formidable and a gauntlet for the teams in it (Virginia, North Carolina, Duke, Syracuse and Notre Dame), but there won't be enough for an AQ anymore. The SOS-boosting ACC Tournament will likely live on in its non-AQ status. ESPN reported that the Irish and Orange are likely to join the ACC for the 2014-2015 academic year.

6. Play-in game on hold?

After the last round of realignment, men's lacrosse appeared poised to have nine conferences earn AQs in 2016 or 2017: ACC, America East, Big East, CAA, ECAC, Ivy, MAAC, NEC and Patriot League. That would've necessitated expansion of the NCAA Tournament field because of the NCAA mandate that no less than 50% of the field be at-large berths (women's lacrosse fans have seen their tournament change several times in recent years to comply with this growth).

However, with the Big East and ACC currently dipping to five teams and in danger of losing their AQs (current or potential), it eases pressure off the NCAA to form a play-in game for the NCAA Tournament. Many, many things can change, but for now it appears the NCAA can wait on having to make decisions about tournament expansion or play-ins.

8. Does it solidify Rutgers' identity?

Scrambling amid conference realignment to find a more stable spot than the far-flung, constantly changing Big East, the Scarlet Knights join a conference of like-minded institutions. Conference stability would be a big plus for Rutgers, and how much of an effect will the potential financial boon from joining the Big Ten have on the lacrosse program?